Council wants an economic development guru

BRIAN ECKHOUSE - Staff Writer

MURRIETA -- The timing seemed curious. A couple of hours after
the City Council on Jan. 22 severed ties with Lori Moss -- the
now-former city manager who presided over economic development for
Murrieta -- the council members discussed, again, how they could
bring elite jobs here for residents, which presumably also would
boost the city's coffers.

Only this time, members of the council raised the possibility of
dividing the city manager job in two. One person would manage a
City Hall staff of 80 people and another would direct a proposed
economic development department.

Coincidence? Mayor Doug McAllister and Councilman Rick Gibbs,
who are leading the city's recruiting efforts, said yes.

"It just so happens that comes to the forefront now," McAllister
said.

But he quickly added: "With this change … that opens up other
options that we didn't have at our disposal before."

Restructured role?

Moss, who has declined to comment publicly since her departure
was announced, hasn't said if she would have supported establishing
a separate economic development department -- a division that
likely would have prompted a shift in her role. City staff has
floated the idea, but as a long-term possibility.

About a week after Moss was released from her contract, the five
council members still haven't disclosed specific reasons for her
sudden departure, except to say that they and the former city
manager all concluded that the six of them wouldn't mesh as
desired. Moss' last day of work was Jan. 26. She was replaced on an
interim basis by former Temecula City Manager Ron Bradley.

It's unclear whether the philosophical differences between the
council and Moss included a proposed role change.

Gibbs is one of the biggest proponents of a restructured city
manager post. He said it wasn't uncommon to receive a response from
Moss to a post-midnight e-mail by the time he awoke the next
morning.

"When Ms. Moss was hired, the council really gave her an
impossible task," Gibbs said of the dual role. "She ran the city,
which is hard enough, and kept doing economic development. … She
(often) worked 20 hours a day."

Moss, as assistant city manager, had presided over Murrieta's
economic development from her initial hire in 1999. She was
promoted to city manager in late September 2004.

New position?

Many city leaders, including Gibbs and Councilman Warnie Enochs,
and outspoken residents say the council needs a separate economic
development post. Of all city staffers, only Moss and spokeswoman
Simone McFarland have had specific economic development
functions.

That could change in the coming years, if not months.

The council has identified a series of goals and actions in an
effort to achieve the city's objective of bringing major
corporations to mostly vacant corridors -- districts designed for
glass-panelled office buildings. The council members have sought to
bring more jobs to Murrieta, which they hope would lessen the
often-lengthy commutes for thousands of the city's residents.

"If we want six-, seven-, or eight-story office buildings down
(Interstate 215) … then it will take a separate department with a
high-caliber person running it," said Gibbs, who seeks a leader
whose network includes hundreds of CEOs. "No way a staff of two can
execute a hundred action items. You need to be realistic."

Like with Moss' permanent successor, Gibbs wants the council to
initiate a nationwide search to find an economic development guru.
He suggests the council recruit "the No. 2 person."

Costly

Although Moss' departure might, in theory, ease the council's
ability to overhaul the city's hierarchy, it actually might do the
opposite.

On July 3, Moss will be paid $175,000 -- her yearly salary -- as
a severance package. Because the council will be paying two city
managers at once, the city may not have the funds to hire an
economic development guru, let alone several employees to staff the
proposed new department.

"It's going to have a financial impact on the city," McAllister
said of Moss' severance package.

Indeed, staffers say the city may not have the requisite funds
for a new department to be launched in the next 18 months -- before
the end of fiscal year 2008 on June 30 of that year.

Deputy City Manager Teri Ferro said the money for Moss'
severance -- and possibly the new salary of the interim city
manager -- would be paid from Murrieta's reserve fund, which now
stands at about $3.7 million.

The budget of fiscal year 2008 has not been established yet, but
Ferro said she is operating with the understanding that the council
intends to authorize the hiring of 12 new police officers. All five
council members have said the city's priority is staffing one
police officer for every 1,000 residents. Currently, there are 73
officers for about 93,000 residents.

"We don't have a lot of money the next two years," McFarland
said. "Something else would have be cut, or we'd have to find some
money somewhere else."

That's especially true if the council ultimately approves hiring
the 12 officers -- at an estimated cost of $1.5 million a year.

"If we want another half-million for another department, there
may have to be tweaking or compromise," Ferro said. "The money has
been pretty much committed to the one-per-1,000 goal; that's been a
five-year plan of the council."

It doesn't mean, however, that an economic development
department necessarily is years away.

Gibbs has proposed establishing a new city division that would
be both an economic development department and a redevelopment
agency. If the council were to heed Gibbs' suggestion, the city
would qualify for some outside funds because of the redevelopment
tie-in, Ferro said.

Criticism

Although considered an economic development expert, Moss and her
staff caught flak for a handful of projects, particularly after
they announced last fall that they had reached an agreement with
retailer Regency Centers of Los Angeles to build a shopping center
on the eastern edge of the city, near French Valley.

The latest plan to develop the Golden Triangle, the precious
65-acre wedge framed by Interstates 15 and 215 and Murrieta Hot
Springs Road, also collapsed late last year.

Some residents and leaders, particularly Gibbs, questioned the
terms of the Regency deal, which would have seen the developer
reimbursed with as much as $5 million in sales tax revenue in 10
years.

Not all council members agreed with Gibbs, but the initial deal
lacked enough support to pass. So Gibbs and McAllister were
appointed to a council subcommittee to renegotiate the deal. The
new agreement likely will save the city $2 million over the
previous deal.

McAllister said the Regency deal and other controversial
projects did not figure into Moss' dismissal, as some residents
have speculated.

"I can see why they'd think that, but that wasn't discussed
here," said McAllister, while sitting in the council's meeting
room.

McAllister and other council members, including Gibbs, did not
blame Moss for these deals that some perceived as lopsided. Gibbs
has said the fault lies with the council for not directing staff to
demand more from developers.

Coincidentally, the council recently has spent many hours across
several board meetings dissecting its goals, and discussing the
importance of setting solid policy -- though they've spent little
time actually crafting policy for staff.

Many of these goals pertain to formulating an exact plan to
bolster the city's economic development. Yet, little has been
accomplished, said Kassen Klein, a former planning commissioner who
is now a consultant to developers.

"I don't think the council has provided a clear-cut direction on
their goals," Klein said. "That is evidenced in their itemized
goals in their goal-setting sessions. They're all over the
place."